As Europe dithers, Britain must regulate

We popped along to see the country's first Commercial Secretary yesterday -
the newly ennobled James Sassoon.

The former banker and Treasury mandarin has a unique chance to smooth the way between business and banking, standing as he does with one foot in the Treasury and one foot in the Business department. But it is in banking and regulatory reform where his, and Treasury colleague Mark Hoban's, most important work lies.

Hoban was right to urge in Brussels on Wednesday that all European banks are stress tested in a the same way that UK banks have been. As I hint in my commenthere, this won't be a painless exercise. But while Europe dithers, it's important we crack on.

Market confidence in the UK's financial position is already returning but we need to urgently finish fixing our regulatory system. We should not be afraid of some unilateral action because the quality, transparency and effectiveness of a country's regulatory regime will still help dictate which financial centres thrive - tax regimes apart.

Frankfurt continues to suffer thanks to Angela Merkel. However, London retains the chance to regain its pre-eminence but with lessons learned.